Just After the Calm
by laurah2215
Summary: CJ/Danny. 9th story in the series: The Unplanned Blessing


Just After the Calm

TitleSeries: The Unplanned Blessing

Author: Laura H

Rating: Teen to Adult.

Disclaimer: We've been doing this long enough that you know I'm not making a penny.

Synopsis: Just when things are beginning to settle down in the Concannon household, Pat shakes things up again with a little secret.

Author's Notes:

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/laurah2215

Timeline:

March 2025: Story 1- The Weight of the World; Story 2- Changes;Story 3-The Wedding;

May 2025: Story 4-Making Memories

July 2025: Story 5- Practice Makes Perfect

August 2025: Story 6- This Isn't the Way It Was Supposed To Happen

October 2025:Story 7:Methods

February 2026: Is There Life Out There?

March 2026:Just After the Calm

Ella Lyman rolls her eyes as she scoops up Pat Concannon's abandoned Physics textbook off his desk and shoves it into her backpack. Pat was always in such a rush to get out of school that sometimes he forgets some school supplies. Even though she and Pat are a year apart, she is in some of the same 11th grade classes as him because she, like her older brother and Abbey, had started school earlier because pre-school wasn't challenging enough. Pat, not having the academic and social aptitude that she and her brother and sister-in-law have, had started kindergarten at five and thus is two years behind Abbey and Noah in school instead of just one. She makes her way through the hall with the intention of meeting Pat at his locker to deliver his book. She arrives at the end of the hall where Pat's locker is located and finds him and Alexia Richter in conversation.

"Okay. You'll call me tonight?" Alexia says in a whisper but Ella, unannounced so far, can hear.

"Yeah. Have fun at the church fundraiser. " Pat grimaces slightly, obviously displeased he can't walk home with Alexia.

"Okay. Bye," Alexia says almost sadly before giving Pat's arm a gentle squeeze. She whips around and almost runs into Ella.

"Oh, bye, Ella," Alexia says quickly in a fluster before she rushes down the hall.

Ella narrows her eyes in slight confusion. " Bye."

Pat's face is tinged with red now. "Hey. You wanna walk home?"

Ella's eyes dilate as she confronts Pat. " Yeah, but heres your book. You left it in class. And do you wanna tell me why you and Alexia were whispering and why she squeezed your bicep?"

Pat shakes his head guiltily as he accepts his text book. "I don't know what you mean. We were just talking normally. . ."

"No you weren't," Ella contradicts as she and Pat head for the front doors in the lobby. You guys were acting all secretive and weird. And she touched you like…I dunno…like she was flirting or something."

"Then you clearly don't know what flirting is," Pat states defensively.

"Hello? Don't you remember my brother chasing all the guys away from me last year when I developed breasts? I think I know what flirting is." Ella rolls her eyes emphatically once they are clear of the school building. She had been graced with her mother's long legs, blue eyes and blonde hair, and last year it seemed that every boy in the school noticed. She hadn't taken advantage of any offers, however. She's much too focused on her science work for dating.

Pat's face blushes an even deeper shade of red as they head toward the path home.

"Just tell me what's going on. I can keep a secret, I promise," Ella pleads, desperate for the gossip.

Glancing around nervously to see if they are out of ear-shot, Pat decides to confess. " Okay, but you can't tell another soul. I…I…I really like Alexia."

Grinning, Ella gives Pat a look that says 'duh!'. "Yeah, what else is new?"

"You knew?" Pat's heart begins to pound.

"It's pretty obvious. And from what I saw in the hallway I wouldn't think it was unrequited."

Pat takes a deep breath. "It's not. I guess…I guess she kinda likes me ,too. 'Cause we hang out all the time and sometimes…sometimes we kiss a little bit. "

"Oh my God! That's adorable, Patrick," Ella gushes, throwing an arm around one of her oldest friends. "Are you guys like gonna go steady?"

Pat rolls his eyes at Ella's teasing. "Shut up. You can't tell anyone 'cause we're not supposed to be together. Alexia's not allowed to date until she's sixteen, so we've had to keep it a secret. If Ted 

ever found out he'd kill me and forbid us from seeing each other. He's super protective of Alexia, especially since Marci…" Alexia's mother had died tragically in a car accident last October, and her father is having a hard time being recently widowed. He's developed a need to keep Alexia and her older brother Mitch in close confines. He's already told Alexia she won't be learning to drive at sixteen like her friends.

"Yeah, I know, " Ella nods sadly. "But Alexia will be sixteen soon so why don't you just ask Ted if you can date then?"

"Because he's really Christian. He's the pastor and she's his daughter. His idea of a date for a sixteen year old is a Friday night Bridge tournament with him present the entire time. We'd never get a moment of peace to just be ourselves. We'd be under surveillance, especially since my parents let Abbey get knocked up. He would never allow Alexia at my house without supervision. And I think my parents will be even more strict about my dating rules after everything that happened with Abbey and Noah."

"Yeah, tell me about it. I'm not allowed to date until I'm like a hundred and five. It sucks that they ruined it for us. But at the same time Abbey and Noah might have made it easier for you and Alexia. I know your parents are so chill now ." Ella was pretty surprised when everyone reacted so well to Abbey's pregnancy. And while she loves her niece, Jordan, Ella is slightly annoyed at what happened for no other reason than her father will never allow her to be alone with a boy now.

"Yeah, they're chill about Abbey and Noah but they won't be chill if I have a girlfriend. And it doesn't matter anyway because Ted will never let me date Alexia. So please promise me you won't say anything." Pat has those desperate eyes so Ella concedes.

"All right. But eventually people are gonna start to notice. " Ella shrugs, not really wanting to keep Pat's little secret, but feeling sorry for him because this is the first girl he's ever been interested in and he's so shy it's not likely he'll get another chance soon.

"Do you think I could come see Jordan this weekend? She's just soooo cute. " Alexia hands Pat a glass of lemonade and resumes her seat on the family room couch in her house.

Pat shrugs and accepts the glass. " Sure. You can come over whenever. Just ask your dad first."

"I don't have to ask my father everything," Alexia retorts, flipping her long curly dark brown hair over her shoulders.

Pat frowns apologetically. "Yeah, I know. But he doesn't like you spending a lot of time at my house for fear that you would see Abbey and Noah living in teenage marital bliss and get the strange idea in your head that that was what you want, as well."

"Are they living in 'teenage marital bliss'?" Alexia asks pointedly.

"No. They're stressed with school and work and looking after Jordan all the time," Pat replies.

Alexia smiles certainly. "Doesn't sound like a life I'd like. It makes me want to wait even more until I'm married to have sex. I mean Jordan is adorable and fun and I'm sure they love her with all their hearts, but when I decide to have a baby I want it to be on my terms, after I'm married and after I've finished school to become a pastor. My father knows that I feel that way, so he doesn't mind me spending time over at your house."

"Really? But I thought he felt…"

Alexia interrupts quickly. "That was before my mother died. That was her. And while he's trying desperately to keep me safe, he no longer minds me going over to your house. He loves your family and trusts your parents. And he really trusts me with you."

"Okay. Then why can't we tell him we want to date? Is it…is it because I'm….I have…problems? Do you not want anyone to know because…because you're embarrassed? " Pat shakes his head in confusion. He's never had an easy time dealing with complex social interaction, especially when it comes to teenage girls. Maybe Alexia was forcing him to keep it a secret because she didn't want to admit to being with a complete nerd.

"What? No way. Not at all. The reason my dad won't like it is not because you're Autistic…it's because you're a seventeen year-old boy. And the reason I don't want to tell anyone is I really don't want us to have to do the whole murder-suicide thing ala Romeo and Juliet." Alexia's face falls in sadness. " Pat, how could you think that who you are would embarrass me? I want to be with you, don't I?"

"I haven't quite figured out why," Pat admits coyly, averting his eyes as his skin tinges red and his neck turns blotchy. "You're so cute and sweet and smart. You could be with anyone in the school, why would you pick me?"

Alexia smiles warmly and gently squeezes Pat's hand. " Because you're cute and sweet and smart. And because I really like you. You don't look at the way the other boys do."

"Like what?" Pat's eyes narrow in confusion.

"I don't know." Alexia rolls her eyes. " Like they care more about what I look like than what's in my head. You don't look at me like that. You look at me with respect and you truly appreciate my values and goals. You know how rare it is to find a guy who doesn't think it's nerdy to be a committed Christian?"

"It's not nerdy at all. I respect what you do. And my values aren't at all in conflict with yours. In case you didn't know, I'm Christian, too." Pat smiles in self-deprecation, supposing that he just has to believe Alexia when she says she likes him and stop shaking his head to put an end to this incredible dream.

Laughing lightly, Alexia leans forward. " You don't say?" She tilts her head in preparation to kiss Pat but stops dead and shoots back when she hears the front door open.

"Hey, baby, I'm home." Ted lets himself into his house and sets his briefcase on the floor. Without a wife around, there is no one to tell him to pick up after himself. Mitch spends most of his time at football practice or at his friends, so it's usually just him and Alexia in the house. Alexia has taken to cooking and cleaning, Ted being completely lost as to how to care for himself and his children without Marci. He spent the last twenty years working at the church and relied on Marci for the household work. Ted runs a hand through his mess of tightly woven black curls on his head as he enters the family room. "Hey. Hi Pat."

"Hey, Daddy," Alexia greets cheerfully. " I'm making pork chops for dinner." Alexia has developed a need to try to cheer her father up whenever possible. She works hard to keep the house in good order and keep them all from starving. Since her mother died her father has developed a permanent frown and pulsating vein in his forehead, so anything Alexia can do to make him forget his deep loss, if only for a moment, is worth everything.

"That's sounds great, baby, thanks." Ted smiles meekly, shrugging out of his suit jacket.

"How was work?" Pat asks cautiously. Sometimes he doesn't know what to say to the widower. Everything is always so gloomy and depressing at the Richter household. He gets the feeling like time has just stopped passing in the house. All of Marci's things are still in their original places. It's as if no one ever moves in the house for upsetting the treasured memories that had taken place in it. It's not nearly as bad as it had been five months previously, but there's just a different atmosphere about the place. Pat supposes this is why Alexia chooses to spend so much time at his house; It's always moving.

"It was all right. We made a lot of money at the fundraiser the other day. Looks like God and the town of Santa Monica wish for us to proceed with the critical renovations. " Ted slides down into his recliner. " So you kids have plans for the weekend?"

"I was going to go next door tomorrow and play with Jordan. She's so mobile now. She crawls and everything now." Alexia loves interacting with Pat's seven month-old niece.

Sometimes Ted focuses so much on death that he forgets to appreciate the abundant sense of life around, especially a budding baby. His lips turn into a half-smile. "That sounds nice, dear."

"My parents are having a barbeque tomorrow. You should all come. My dad always makes extra burgers." Pat looks between Alexia and her had. Alexia is smilingly encouragingly.

"Thank you, Patrick. Alexia, you're welcome to go but I'm going to hang around here and do some work. " Ted stands up slowly. " Tell your parents 'hello' for me. I'm going to my study. Can you please call me when dinner is ready, Alexia?"

"Sure, Daddy. " Alexia calls softly as Ted makes his way out of the room. She exhales loudly and her face shifts into a look of concern.

"Are you okay?" Pat asks worriedly.

"He's just so sad. I hate it. I just…I can't stand it any more." Tears begin to pool in Alexia's eyes.

Pat puts an awkward arm around Alexia. " It must be so hard. I can't imagine. But every time I ask if you're okay, you always say you are. Every time my mom asks if you're okay, you say you are. Whenever anyone inquires about your dad ,you tell them he's okay. Were you lying or did you just not know how bad things were?"

Alexia averts her eyes. " I was lying. To you, to your parents, to Josh and Donna, to everyone at church. But mostly to myself. I thought if I could just tell myself and everyone else that all was fine, then maybe it would be. Like a self-fulfilling prophesy. But it didn't work."

"Oh, Alexia, " Pat sighs. He thinks this is all above his capabilities to deal with, but he wants to comfort Alexia. "I'm so unbelievably sorry. Is there anything I can do?"

Composing herself, Alexia manages a smile." You're already doing enough by just letting me escape from this sometimes. That's all I need. But I think you should go back home now. I've gotta finish up dinner and your mom will be looking for you."

"All right. Well let me know if you wanna talk." Pat stands up after Alexia and leans over to peck her quickly. "I'll call you later."

"Okay. Bye." Alexia squeezes Pat's hands and takes a little bit of his strength for herself.

"Did you ask Ted if he wanted to come for the barbeque?" CJ inquires of Pat as she walks into the den and finds his face buried in a book with CNN blaring on the T.V.

"Yeah.He said to tell you thanks but he's just going to stay inside and work," Pat replies automatically without halting his reading.

CJ sighs and shakes her head in disapproval. "That poor man. I wish he would get out more."

"Well it isn't for your lack of trying," Pat points out without looking up at his mother.

"Honey, we're just trying to help in any way we can." CJ takes a seat on the couch next to her son.

With an exhale, Pat looks up to CJ. " Well maybe he just needs some time to himself. He's having a hard time so maybe he just wants to brood and pray for a while instead of going out every week 'cause someone in the neighbourhood takes pity on him."

CJ's face adopts a look of confusion. " PJ, we're not taking pity. We're just trying to give him some positive things to focus on. "

"I know. But maybe just lay off for a while. " Pat appreciates that his parents and some of the others on their street want to help Ted through the difficult times, but thinks that perhaps what Ted needs is a little space right now.

CJ's lip twitches. " It's really tense over there, isn't it?"

Pat nods solemnly. "It's awful. It's like walking on broken glass. I just watch my step. And Alexia is put in such a bad spot. She's miserable and missing her mom a lot, but she tries to put on a show for Ted every day so he doesn't get more depressed. She does all the cooking and cleaning 'cause Mitch is never home to help. He just escapes it all the time."

CJ aches with sympathy for the family. "That poor girl. I'll have to offer again to help her out, but I assume she'll be too proud to take any assistance just like her father."

Pat shrugs. "I think you already do enough, Mom. I mean you taught her how to cook some stuff and you're always there to talk when she wants. Plus, you basically let her live here every day so she can get away from her house. "

"Well she knows she's welcome any time. But please reiterate to her that if she needs anything..."

"You're the first one to come to. Got it, Mom." Pat turns his attention back to his book.

With a smile, CJ ruffles Pat's head of loose curly hair (directly inherited from Danny) and sneaks a quick peck on his cheek before he lightly shoves her away. Sometimes she wishes her only son wasn't seventeen years-old now and way too cool to be kissed by his mother. "Love you."

"I think you should change the song. " Alexia smiles as she breaks off the long kiss she had been sharing with Pat on his bed.

"In a minute," Pat tells her, reaching behind Alexia's head to run his hands through her brunette curls and melding his lips to hers again. He's becoming lost in her sparkling green eyes again.

"In a minute the song will be over," Alexia states pointedly with a coy grin.

"Well then there's no point in changing it now. We'll just wait 'til the next one comes on." Pat just doesn't want to move from his spot lying beneath Alexia to go over to his desk and change the song on his computer.

"Okay. But you are so repaying me later. I'm talking you'll have to sit through at least one Cayla Brixton song and refrain from making any sort of gagging noise," Alexia teases good naturedly.

"That just takes the fun out of it. How will I survive? " Pat muses, titling his head to kiss Alexia again.

"Pat, dessert is…" CJ marches quickly into Pat's room and stops dead at the sight of her neighbour's daughter with her tongue down her son's throat. "Oh my God." She has to close her eyes to get the picture out of her head.

"Mom! Why didn't you knock?" Pat demands as Alexia scrambles to her feet off the bed.

CJ opens her eyes and fixes her son with a glare. "Because I didn't expect you two to be in here making-out! God, what were you thinking?"

"CJ, I…"Alexia feels the need to explain.

"No, no, no, no! We've already let one girl on this street get pregnant and I'll be damned if I let it happen again. This is absolutely unacceptable behaviour. You cannot be in your room together. " CJ is practically indignant.

"But, Mom, that's not fair! We didn't have a 'no bedroom' rule. " Pat stands next to Alexia beside the bed and faces his mom almost square on. At five feet and eleven inches, he is exactly his mother's height.

"Well that's because I never thought for the life of me that you two would be kissing! What, is there something in the water in this friggin' house?" CJ shakes her head in anger. She never thought she'd ever be experiencing this problem with Pat. She figured with Pat's lagging social skills he'd be over thirty before he ever kissed a girl.

"Maybe I should go home?" Alexia whispers hesitantly while Pat and CJ share a heated look.

"I'll be calling your father later," CJ informs Alexia curtly.

"No, CJ, please. You can't tell him. He'll ground me and never let me see Pat and…" Alexia's eyes are dilated in fright.

"We'll discuss it later, Alexia," CJ replies, her gaze never wavering from her son's.

"All right. Bye," Alexia whispers again as she slips out the door.

"What the hell were you thinking?" CJ asks with crossed arms.

"I was going to ask you the same thing. You shouldn't have barged in!" Pat retorts with puffed cheeks. He's never talked back to either of his parents before, but he's nervy tonight because he doesn't want to ruin things with Alexia.

CJ's jaw drops in shock that her little boy would yell back at her. "Don't you dare talk to me like that! This is my house and I have the right to go wherever I please. And you, young man, live here and abide by our rules."

"I didn't break any rules!" Pat screams. " There was no rule that I couldn't have Alexia in my room."

CJ takes in a deep breath. " You didn't tell us that you like Alexia and you were in a relationship. That is lying by omission and we do not tolerate lying in this house."

"Oh, what about how you tolerated Abbey lying to you about having sex with Noah when you guys were in San Francisco!" Pat throws back, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. He has never been this upset and angry, and embarrassed.

"Don't you dare throw that back at me! We did not tolerate that. Abbey was severely punished for that offense and you know it." CJ is absolutely floored that Pat is fighting with her.

"Until she told you she was pregnant and then all was forgiven! You let her and Noah get away with anything and I was just harmlessly kissing Alexia and I get yelled at and embarrassed. It's not fair. I don't deserve this. I've always been good." Pat's face is completely flushed at this point.

"What the hell is going on here?" Danny inquires in confusion as he comes through his son's doorway and spots his wife and Pat in a fight.

"Your son and Alexia were making out on his bed! And apparently it's not the first time it's happened." CJ folds her arms across her chest so she won't gesticulate wildly anymore.

"What, you and Alexia?" Danny has a half smirk on his face until he catches CJ's look of displeasure.

"She yelled at me and embarrassed me in front of Alexia," Pat states his case for the neutral moderator. He hopes his father will be more sympathetic to his feelings.

"Because you two were behaving inappropriately and you were deceiving us into thinking you were just friends. And that is just as bad as lying to us." CJ argues.

"But there was no rule that I couldn't have Alexia in my room!" Pat retorts in frustration.

Danny puts his hands up to stop the commotion and speaks in a calm voice. "Okay. Let's everybody take a breath. It sounds to me like we got some wires crossed. Pat, if you and Alexia were in some kind of personal relationship, you should have talked to us about it. I know there wasn't an explicit rule that you couldn't have Alexia up here, but that was 'cause we never assumed you had those feelings for each other. That was clearly hiding a big part of your life from us and that was wrong. Plus, it involved the Richter's who are good friends of ours. Ted has the right to know about how his daughter spends time with you. You were deceiving your mother and I and Ted, and you shouldn't have done that. For that there's gonna be consequences, which your mother and I will discuss."

Pat feels the need to defend himself. "But that's not fair! I actually wanted to tell you and Ted but Alexia wanted to keep it a secret. She's not allowed to date until she's sixteen and that won't happen for another month. She thought her father would disapprove and we'd never be able to spend time alone together, so she asked me not to tell anyone. And I didn't want to go against her because…well…I really, really like her and didn't want to screw it up. I know nothing about girls, but I knew I had to listen to her wishes."

Danny huffs with a tiny smile. "I can certainly understand that. Liking a girl, especially your first crush, makes you do stupid things you wouldn't have done otherwise."

"Like yell at your mother," CJ adds bitterly. "I'm extremely disappointed in how you handled this, Patrick. Maybe you were just trying to do what Alexia wanted, but it still wasn't right. Alexia should not have been deceiving her father like that. She's just a fifteen year-old girl and you two shouldn't be in a hot and heavy relationship."

"But we aren't. Alexia really respects her religion and doesn't want to have sex before marriage. And God knows I would never, ever try to push her into anything. All we were doing was kissing, I swear!" Pat wants his parents to know he truly respects Alexia.

Danny nods in satisfaction, glad he raised a good young man."Good. Because I always told you to treat girls properly and show them dignity and respect. And it looks like we'll be having more conversations about that in the future."

"Patrick, if you ever, ever hurt that girl the reverend would never forgive us . I truly believe if you got that girl pregnant it would give him a stroke." CJ remembers how badly Danny reacted when they told him Abbey was pregnant and imagines it would be twice as bad for Ted Richter.

"But that won't happen, Mom. I promise. I'm not even ready for all that stuff yet. I've got my whole life to have to deal with the possible consequences of having sex so I'm not in any hurry. Honestly." Pat averts his eyes, thinking this is the most he's ever discussed sex in front of his mother. He and Danny had had several conversations in the course of his growing up as he was exposed to more mature information about sex.

CJ sighs deeply, calming herself down. It's possible she over-reacted to seeing two innocent kids kissing. But she already has one in-law and one grandchild living in her house and she doesn't want another one for a long time.

"Okay. Pat, you should call Alexia and ask her to tell Ted we'll be over shortly to talk this through. In the mean time your mother and I are going to discuss this and we'll let you know what comes from that conversation and the one with Ted." Danny motions for CJ to follow his through the open door.

"Mom?" Pat calls softly with a pained and guilty expression. "I'm sorry I yelled at you. It was really rude and I won't do it again. I was just really upset and embarrassed."

"That's not an excuse, Pat. You shouldn't have treated your mother like that, and you know it." Danny had always instilled in his children, especially Pat, that they had to treat their mother with the utmost respect.

"I know. I'm sorry," Pat reiterates.

CJ raises her gaze to stare directly at Pat. "All right. I accept. But that disappointed me, Patrick. It really did. It hurt to think that because you're growing up you're going to wedge this distance between us. I spent the last seventeen years working very hard with you and all your therapists and psychologists so I could give you a decent shot at having the life you desire. It may seem like we spent more time and money on Abbey with all her sports and clubs and schooling, but we took a lot 

more time and effort trying to help you so no dream you might have would be out of reach. And it was worth it because we love you and believe in you and it looks like you're turning out to be an incredible young man. Every day you're turning more and more into your father and I couldn't be prouder of you for that. But don't ever think we gave Abbey special treatment. We gave both of you the special treatment you needed to be successful and achieve your potential , even though the treatment was completely different." The doctors had told her and Danny as soon as Pat was diagnosed that their son would require intensive therapy for the duration of his childhood and adolescence and possibly even into adulthood. They had advised them to do whatever was in their financial capabilities to help their son, but they should never treat him better or worse than their 'normal' child. They would certainly have to give him special treatment, but they should never treat him better or let him get away with intolerable behaviour just because he had problems that their daughter didn't have. That philosophy has guided them since Pat's diagnoses and allowed them to truly treat their children equally even though their son needed special care.

"Yeah, I know. I understand that. I never thought you loved one of us more than the other." Pat troubles his bottom lip awkwardly.

"We didn't. We love you equally," CJ reiterates.

Licking his lip quickly, Danny decides he needs a private minute with his son. "Honey, why don't you just give Pat and I a minute? I'll come to our room in a minute so we can deal with this."

"All right." With a last look, CJ exist the room much slower than how she had walked in.

"I'm in a lot of trouble, aren't I?" Pat inquires nervously, sitting back down on his bed.

"For once it was your mother over-reacting and wanting to dish our harsh punishment and not me. We've never really needed to discipline you. But there are some mitigating circumstances I'll address to your mother during the trial. Pat, you are a great kid. You've always tried really hard at school, you've been a good neighbour and friend and a nice, easy kid to parent. We're not going to sentence you to months of grounding because you were kissing a girl. That's not what this is about. We adore Alexia and like that you might have a relationship with her. Congrats about that, by the way."

Pat grins proudly, even though sometimes he's in disbelief that Alexia actually wants him.

"But you shouldn't have led us into thinking you were just watching movies in your room. You should have talked to us about this…crush or whatever you want to call it. We could have had a rational, calm discussion with Ted and avoided the blow up that will inevitably ensue tonight when Ted learns you've been deceiving him, as well. Don't you think he would have handled it better if you had have asked his permission to date Alexia instead of sneaking around behind his back?"

"Yeah. You're right. Now I won't be allowed within ten feet of her," Pat muses sadly.

"And you're going to have to deal with that now because you both made a mistake. But maybe once Ted cools off he'll let you and Alexia see each other again. And when and if he does, you're going to show both Alexia and Ted what a perfect little gentlemen you are. You'll obey all rules he 

might put in place and put up with whatever ridiculous restrictions and obligations he may have. If he thinks your dates should be going to Youth Group with the Youth Pastor Friday nights, then that's what you'll do. If you really like this girl, which I think you do, you're going to have to make some sacrifices and put up with a lot of lonely nights. Do you understand?" Danny knows Pat would never date a girl just to have sex, but he wants him to understand how truly difficult and unique his relationship with Alexia might be.

Pat nods with conviction. " Yes, I really know. But it's worth it, because I think I really love her."

Danny smiles warmly. " I waited nearly a decade for your mother, ya know? But by God it was worth it. And speaking of her, you owe her a big apology. You treated her disrespectfully and that disappoints me."

"I know. I'll think of a way to make it up to her." Pat nods again.

Danny is about to walk out but stops short of the door. "Good. And, son, it's important that you don't cut her out of your life now that you're getting older. She's always been like your best friend and you had such a special relationship. She loves your sister just as much, but she's always had a more special and deeper connection to you. It would really hurt her to lose that."

"She won't lose it," Pat assures his father. " I love her."

"I know you do," Danny replies, thinking that this is probably the most profound discussion he's ever had with his son. When the kids were growing up Abbey was always his little girl and Pat was a mama's boy. Now that the kids are getting older, Abbey has found unshakeable solidarity with the mother who is teaching her to care for her own family, and Pat is connecting with Danny in attempt to grow into a man. "Call Alexia and let them know we're coming over."

"Okay," Pat replies.

Danny makes his way down the hall to the master-bedroom and finds CJ sitting at the edge of their bed staring at a picture of Pat riding his first bike along their street, his orange popsicle moustache accenting his contagious grin. "What are you doing?"

"He just grew up so fast. I mean I knew Abbey was really advanced so it never surprised me how quickly she grew up. But I guess I just stupidly assumed Pat would always remain my little boy. But he…he actually likes this nice girl that could make him really happy and he's starting to really act like…"

"A man?" Danny smirks, secretly proud that his awkward teen has a girlfriend.

CJ smiles a half-smile. " You."

"Yeah, well, I tried to beat all my faults out of him but the boy refuses to respond to physical lashings. " Danny smiles teasingly as he perches on the bed beside CJ and takes her hand in his.

"What are we gonna do about this?" CJ wonders aloud.

"Well, this is why they invented convents and monasteries," Danny shrugs.

"Danny…"

"What? They're good kids, CJ. They're not going to be stupid."

"Funny, I seem to remember telling you that when Abbey and Noah started dating and you flipped your bird." CJ narrows her eyes.

"That was different. She was our daughter," Danny points out.

CJ scoffs. "So? Are you honestly gonna sit here and tell me we should have a double standard when it comes to the rules we put in place for our daughter and son?"

"No, not a double standard. It's just that it's different for a boy," Danny states hesitantly.

"That's a double standard! How would you have liked if it Josh used that argument and refused to hold Noah accountable for the rules we put in place in his house because Noah was his boy?" CJ has to put that out there because Danny is talking ridiculously.

"It's not the same," Danny insists.

"Danny, put yourself in Ted's position right now. You practically had an aneurism when Abbey started dating. We have to give Pat limits." CJ allows Danny a minute to process this and remember what it was liking being the father of the girl.

"Yeah, you're right. Pat will be a good boy. But, darling, we can't punish him too harshly for this. I know he deceived us but it was his first real crush that wasn't from a T.V show. He was trying to prevent Alexia from getting in trouble." Danny finds himself defending his son in similar way to which CJ defended Abbey these past few years.

"And copping out by not facing Ted and securing his permission to be with Alexia," CJ adds. " He'll need to be grounded, and he'll need to live with whatever rules Ted puts in place if he ever lets him near Alexia again."

"Yeah, I know. We might as well ground him because Alexia won't see the outside of her bedroom and classroom for the rest of her life." Danny sighs, sympathizing with PJ.

"All right. Well let's go incur the wrath of the reverend." CJ pulls Danny up.

"How'd it go?" Pat throws his book down on the bed and sits up at attention when his parents file into his room.

"Alexia is grounded for a month for sneaking around with you," CJ reports, perching on the end of Pat's bed.

"He's building a dungeon and there's a good chance she'll be shipped off to St. Theresa's School for Delinquent Girls starting Monday," Danny teases, taking a seat in Pat's desk chair.

"So he took it badly, huh?" Pat's face registers profound fear.

CJ frowns, feeling very sorry for the young girl who will now be trapped inside with a depressed father for the next month. But, she has to agree with Ted that it's the proper sentence. "There was a little shouting and strong words, but eventually he calmed down. Once Alexia's grounding is over and after her sixteenth birthday he will consider sitting down and talking to you both about the possibility of seeing each other. In the mean time, you have strict instructions not to converse with her at school. Apparently Mitch will let him know if you're hanging out at school."

"This is awful," Pat huffs. " She can't spend the next month going no where but home and school. It'll be torture."

CJ shrugs." Well, honey, you've both got to honour his wishes. And you're not exactly without blame. Tell him what he's won, Danny."

"You've earned yourself four weeks of grounding, my friend. No T.V. or music or computer. No seeing Mackie and certainly no seeing Alexia. Upon demonstration of remorseful and rehabilitated behaviour, you can apply for early parole." Danny folds his hands, resisting the urge to comment that he really didn't think Pat deserved much punishment at all.

Pat sighs with a nod of concession. "Okay. I guess that's fair. Do you think Ted will ever let me see Alexia again?"

"I foresee a lot of Saturday night chess tournaments in the Richter's family room in your future," Danny quips."He may let you come around again, but he'll never trust you the same. And he probably shouldn't. "

"He doesn't have any reason to distrust me. I would never hurt Alexia." Pat doesn't know what he can say to Alexia's father to make him understand that he really only has Alexia's best interest at heart.

"Well maybe you can go over there tomorrow and show what a man you are and have a conversation with Ted about it. It would show a great deal of maturity to explain yourself and try to assure him that you're going to treat Alexia with the utmost respect." Danny remembers a conversation he had to have with his first high school girlfriend's father and empathizes with his son.

"I might hyperventilate," Pat points out.

"Bring your medicine," CJ instructs, standing up again, suddenly very exhausted. It wasn't exactly a fun conversation with their reverend. But once Danny assured the other man that he understood what it felt like to be the father of the teenage girl and would ensure that his son abided by the rules, Ted had begun to calm down. Danny admitted that while he wasn't thrilled that his son-in-law had gotten his daughter pregnant, he also knew that it wasn't just Noah's idea for them to have 

sex. Abbey hadn't been pushed or coerced, but had come to the decision herself. Josh and Donna had, gratefully, raised their son to be a gracious gentlemen. Alexia, on the other hand, had no interest in engaging in sex before marriage and Pat convinced them that he would always honour that. So Ted didn't have to worry about Alexia spending time with their son because they were completely different than the married teenagers that Ted didn't want his daughter to emulate.

"Hey, Mom." Pat pushes himself off his bed and stands awkwardly in front of his mom. " I really am sorry for earlier. You've done nothing but help me my entire life and you don't deserve to be yelled at."

CJ's lips curl into a weary half-smile. "It's all right, honey. I know you were just upset. Now I'm going to check on Jordan and go to bed. Good night. I love you."

In a moment of throwing aside his dignity to show his mother his appreciation, Pat wraps his arms around his mother's shoulders and places a quick kiss to her cheek. " Love you, too, Mom."

CJ holds onto Pat's skinny shoulders and just absorbs the feeling of being wanted and loved by her son for the first time in probably two years. After a minute she blinks back tears and allows Pat to escape the embrace. "Okay. Good night." CJ walks out of the room feeling a lot better. An hour ago she had felt like she was losing her son as he grew up, but now she thinks she may just find him again.

"Good job, son. That meant a lot more to her than you'll ever know. You should start hugging her again every once in a while. " Danny stands up places a hand to Pat's shoulder.

"Thanks for talking to Ted, Dad. I guess you had to defend me and I really appreciate it. " He knows his father will always be on his side.

With a smile, Danny shakes his head. " Yeah, okay. Just don't screw this up, okay? I know you would never become a jerk and treat her badly because that's not who you are. But just tread carefully, all right? That's a sweet young girl and she deserves the best."

"I really, really know that," Pat convinces his father.

"I know you do," Danny adds with certainty.

"Thanks, Dad." In another possibly odd moment of humility, Pat puts his arms around his dad's shoulders and squeezes quickly.

"You're welcome. Have a good night." Danny squeezes his son's shoulder with a smile before letting go and retreating back to his room. He can't believe how this house never seems to stop moving. Every time things seem to settle down and they put their lives back together after they are all messed up, something happens to shake and stir them all back again. This time, however, instead of being filled with a sense of hurt and loss like he felt when Abbey told him she had a boyfriend and wanted to grow up, he finally feels like a sense of relaxation has fallen over him. He doesn't have to worry about his hermit son living in their house forever and never pursuing a meaningful life. Pat is growing into a responsible, caring and intelligent young man and he could very well move onto an independent , self-sufficient and rewarding life.


End file.
